


Not My Brother

by Wolfcry22



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bobby Singer Deals With Idjits, Brotherly Love, Dean Winchester Takes Care of Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester is Sam Winchester's Parent, Exorcisms, Gen, Holy Water, Hunting, Hurt/Comfort, Possession, Protective Dean Winchester, Season 2, Sick Character, Sick Sam Winchester, Sickfic, Sneezing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25295494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfcry22/pseuds/Wolfcry22
Summary: Sam is possessed by a demon. Dean figures it out because Sam usually stifles his sneezes, and now he's not stifling.
Relationships: Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Comments: 5
Kudos: 101





	Not My Brother

**Author's Note:**

> A prompt that I found with an interesting idea that Dean knows Sam so well that he knows when Sam is possessed when he’s not acting like himself when sick. A different telling of why Sam and Dean got antipossession tattoos and because I’m a sucker for writing hurt/comfort. Hope you all enjoy!

The engine of the Impala turned over before Dean started down the long highway. It was about a twenty minute drive back to the motel and the two brothers felt more than defeated. They had tracked a demon to a remote town in Colorado, but when they had tried to exorcise it, the thing had disappeared. They had tried tracking it, but they came away with nothing.

Dean looked over at Sam and tried not to frown. His brother had been in charge of the devil's trap and he had forgotten to close it. The demon had escaped and Dean blamed Sam for it. However, he knew that it wasn't entirely his brother's fault. 

Sam was sicker than a dog. He had had a 102 degree fever, body aches, chills, cough, and not to mention major congestion and sneezing. That was mainly Sam's fault. Sam stifled his sneezes. He had been doing that since he was a kid. Dean had given up trying to tell him how dangerous it was and how he could blow out an eardrum. He had once before when he was young, but he clearly hadn't learned from it. So, Dean just let it go. He didn't even bother blessing him anymore. It just seemed like it wouldn't make a difference. 

"ItcsHSHsh! ItcsHshsh!"

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard that. He spiraled around in his seat and saw Sam with his hands thrust over his face as he was propelled forward with each nasal explosion. Dean held his breath as he raised one hand to his chest. Sam had always stifled his sneezes, so Dean never actually knew what they sounded like. He hadn't sneezed like that since he was four or five. 

"Geez, Sammy, bless you," Dean gasped as he turned his gaze back on the road. "You okay? Those were doozies!"

Sam moved his hands from his face to reveal moist nostrils and swollen sinuses. He looked at Dean a bit confused before he smiled. 

That was odd. 

“You okay, Sammy," Dean asked. He would've checked for fever if he didn't think that Sam would break his hand if he tried.

"I'm fine, Dean," Sam grumbled as he lifted a wrist and moved it upward against his runny nose. "Ugh this is disgusting!"

Dean chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "Sam, you have a cold. You're supposed to be 'disgusting'. It's snot," Dean grumbled. He might need to check Sam for a concussion later. He didn't seem to be in his right mind.   
  
Sam said nothing more as he continued to sniffle. Dean had a firm rule about annoying noises in the Impala, but this was Sam. He could let it slide for a little bit due to his cold. However, twenty minutes may be pushing it. 

Dean eventually fished some napkins from under the seat and threw it in Sam's lap. Sam looked almost confused as Dean motioned to them. "Blow your nose, sniffles. That's getting really annoying really fast."

Sam looked surprised for a moment before he complied. Dean rolled his eyes as Sam dropped the napkins on the floor. Dean would've snapped at him if he wasn't so ill. Besides, he had to chew him out later for that devil's trap. That demon had gone who knows where and they probably wouldn't be able to find it until he caused even more damage.

The rest of the trip to the motel was mostly quiet except for Sam's insistent sniffling. He didn't sneeze anymore, but he was so good at stifling that Dean might not even know if he sneezed. It would end in a sort of small sigh that Dean could've mistaken for an actual sigh. He had no way of knowing how shitty Sam actually felt.

They pulled up to the motel and climbed out of the Impala. They each grabbed their respective duffles and headed back into their room. Dean threw his on his bed and tried to stretch his aching shoulders. He was getting too old for this, even though he was only 27.

"IscHshsh! ItcsHsHsh!" 

Dean jumped once more and spun to see Sam, sneezing openly toward the ground. Dean tilted his head. That was certainly not how Sam would usually sneeze or act. He would always stifle and then he would cover the stifle. He wasn't sure if Sam was a germaphobe, but he certainly was considerate of others.

"Bless you, Sam," Dean questioned as he looked to his brother. 

Sam sniffled powerfully. That was another thing that Sam wouldn't usually do. Usually Sam was quiet and would sniffle in embarrassment while looking down. This was not normal Sam behavior.

"Do you want first shower," Dean offered as he pointed to the bathroom. He was praying that Sam would agree. There was something that he had to do. 

Sam seemed a little confused as he followed Dean's finger. He shrugged, grabbed his duffle, and headed into the bathroom. Dean quickly grabbed his cellphone when he heard the sound of the shower running and the loud, echoing sneezes that couldn't have belonged to his brother, yet they did.

"ItcsHShsh! ItcSHshsh! ItcsHsHs! ItcSHshshsh!"

Dean growled under his breath. That wasn't Sam at all. Those sneezes sounded like they could belong to Sam, considering that he was big enough to have those sort of sneezes. But, Sam never, ever let them loose. They never snuck out. Sam just always stifled by pinching his nose with his thumb and forefinger so that no sound or air could get through. Dean thought that it was beyond stupid unless you were on a hunt, but Sam wouldn't listen, so Dean stopped prying. It wasn't like Sam just automatically stopped just because Dean had been bugging him for his entire life.

Dean opened his phone and quickly dialed Bobby's number.

"Yeah, Bobby, it's Dean." 

"Dean, what can I help you with? I thought you were on a simple demon case?"

Dean's gaze turned back toward the bathroom. "I think that our 'simple' demon case if far from simple." He lowered his voice so that Sam couldn't hear him. "I have a weird question for you."

"I'm used to weird. What do ya got," Bobby asked with a deep sigh.

"I need to know if Sam ever sneezed in front of you and not those weird stifles that he calls sneezes," Dean asked, wincing at how freaky that sounded.

Bobby paused. "Not that I recall, but it's not like I looked for it. Why?"

"Well, because Sam always, always stifles his sneezes. It doesn't matter. I haven't heard him fully sneeze since he was four. I don't know why. That's just freaky Sam. But, after we tried to exorcise the demon and it bolted, Sam started to really sneeze. These are some loud sneezes." Bobby laughed. "They're Sam's sneezes alright, but he always stifles."

"So, you're telling me that Sam is possessed by a demon because he sneezes like a normal person now," questioned Bobby in amusement.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know that it sounds beyond freaky, but that's Sam. You gotta believe me," pleaded Dean.

There was a deep sigh from Bobby's end. "If you're so sure about this then test him. You have extra holy water, right?"

"Yeah. I just—“

"Just what," Bobby interrupted when Dean trailed off.

"I hope I'm right," Dean replied as he ran his fingers along the itchy bedspread. "Then I have to be ready to exorcise it or at least have it leave. I don't have time to make a devil's trap."

"Do what you have to do and give me a call." Bobby grunted. "I can't believe you can tell he's possessed just because of how he sneezes. You two really need a vacation from each other."

Dean hung up the phone as he heard the door to the bathroom click. He threw his phone away, quickly pretending to rummage through his duffle. He always kept an extra vial of holy water in his duffle for emergencies like this. It wasn't much, but it would do the trick to check Sam. He just hoped that he was right. If not then he would have some explaining to do.

"Hey, Sam, are you feeling alright," Dean asked as his fingers curled around the vial tightly.

Sam looked up, his hair slightly wet at the ends from the shower. "What do you think," Sam snapped.

Dean shrugged. "Very well. You know, if you dried your hair you'd probably feel a little warmer," Dean suggested, seeing Sam sniffle and rub his hand along his nose.

Sam shrugged. "I'm fine, Dean. Stop trying to always control me!"

That couldn't have been Sam. He may have felt that was true, but he would've never come out and say that. If anything, Sam would go along with it and let Dean help him do anything when he was sick. This wasn’t the Sam Dean remembered at all.

"ItcSHsHshh! ItcsHshsh!"

"Bless you," Dean told him as he curled the holy water in one hand and tissues in the other. He stalked toward Sam and stretched out the tissues. Sam went to grab them, but Dean was quicker.

He threw the holy water in Sam's face and Sam screamed, rubbing his hands over his face as he started to smoke. Dean jumped back and started to utter words in latin. He remembered the exorcism since he had said most of it earlier since Sam had been too stuffy to do so. 

However, without the devil’s trap, the demon had no desire to stick around. Sam opened his mouth as the black smoke shot out. Dean lifted a hand over his face and prayed that the demon wouldn't choose him. Luckily, it broke one of the windows and headed into the night.

Sam collapsed and Dean rushed over to him. He crumpled down and grabbed Sam’s chest. "Sam! Sam, wake up!"

Sam pried open his eyes slowly. He suddenly shot forward and pressed his head against Dean's chest to try and muffle the sound. 

"Itsh! Itcshxx! Itcshxx!"

"That's the Sammy I know," Dean whispered as he threaded his fingers through Sam's hair to try and bring him back to where he was. "You okay, Sam?" 

Sam looked up and gave a small nod. "Yeah, I'm okay," he rasped before he lifted a hand and rubbed at his nose. "How did you know that I was possessed?”

Dean laughed as he tapped Sam on the nose. Sam immediately recoiled and lifted his hand to pinch the sides of his nose as tightly as humanly possible.

"Itcshxx! Ithxx! Itcshxx!"

"That's now," answered Dean with a proud smile at his brother.

Sam lifted an eyebrow. "Because of my sneezes? Do I even want to know how that is possible," he grunted in distain.

Dean carefully hauled his brother to his feet as he led him to the bed. "You always stifle your sneezes. The demon inside of you didn't know that. I've never heard you sneeze like that, so I knew that it couldn't be you."

"I'm a little embarrassed that we've spent that much time together that you actually know that," Sam joked as he coughed heavily into a fist, rubbing his nose gingerly.

Dean threw the tissues at him. Sam caught them easily in a raised hand and started to clean up his nose a little better. "Consider it one of the many things that we learned living in close quarters for most of our lives," he suggested as he hit Sam on the shoulder. "I'm just glad that you're you."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Do you think that maybe we should work on defending ourselves better," he suggested, coughing into his elbow and not on Dean.

Dean sat beside him on the bed and rolled his ankles. "And what would you suggest?"

"Maybe antipossession tattoos or symbols or something that we carry of have on our bodies. Just so that we don't have to worry about this again," Sam suggested with a shrug. 

Dean laughed. "I'll know if you're possessed, sneezy."

Sam elbowed Dean hard in the side. "I won't always have a cold, Dean. You were just lucky this time."

He suddenly turned away and clamped his nose so tight that Dean thought that he was going to rip it right off of his face.

"Itcshxx! Itcshxx! Itcshxx!"

Dean rolled his eyes. He stood up from the bed and looked at his sniffly, sneezy little brother. "I'll look into it, but needles aren't really my friend. Besides, how do we know if they'll do it right?"

Sam coughed as he leaned back on the bed, slightly shivering thanks to the fever. "It's a chance that we'll have to take, but I think that it's worth it."

Dean thought about how horrible this could have gone if the demon would’ve had higher aspirations than just possessing Sam. He had just gotten lucky this time. Maybe it was time that they worked smart and not hard. Sam was good at that; he did go to college after all. It might not have been for demonic possession, but just as well.

"We'll look into it in the morning. But for now you need to get some sleep," Dean told him as he propped up some pillows under Sam's head since he showed no sight of actually moving. 

Sam groaned. "I can take care of myself, Dean." 

"Yep, and who's the one that saved you from that demon? I'm going to go with me on that one," Dean pointed out with a grin, tapping his chest proudly.

Sam coughed. "Not fair! You just got lucky," he argued as he sniffled again.

Dean draped a tissues over his face so that it covered his brother's entire face. "If I hadn't, then you would've had a demon as a roommate for the foreseeable future. Just do as I say, bitch, and get some sleep." 

Sam knew what Dean had did for him. He knew that he owed him and if Dean wanted him to sleep, then the least that he could do was sleep. It may serve to help him with this miserable cold.

He turned his head into his pillow suddenly and held his breath.

"Itcshxx! Itcshshsxx! Itcshshxxx!"

"Bless you," Dean exclaimed loudly.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Jerk." 

If that was the worse insult that Sam could come up with, Dean would take it. He was the one that had stopped the demon from masquerading as him just from just knowing his sneezes. But, maybe Bobby was right. They might need a vacation from each other if Dean could tell that Sam was possessed, just how he did or didn't stifled his sneezes.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that you all liked it and staying safe and healthy!


End file.
